Tuesday, May 20, 2014

The Weirdness of Retirement

Creating a regular schedule in retirement helps to make
sense of your newfound time and freedom. I choose to spend Friday mornings at
Starbucks, where I write and develop programs for upcoming seminars. Leaving
the house and having a place to go contributes to my creative juices and
motivation. Friday morning I wake up curious and eager to start my day.

Last Friday as I was sipping my skinny mocha grande, in
walked a recently retired couple, Laura and Steve, whom I hadn't seen in a while.
Laura is a pediatrician and Steve's career has been in scientific research. Knowing
that I write and speak on retirement, Steve asked, "Isn’t retirement weird?" When I gave him the what-do-you-mean look, Steve said, "Here we are at
Starbucks at 10 in the morning hanging out with other Starbucks people. We
should be at work."

Until now, Laura and Steve had no reason to know or think
about being any place other than work on a Friday morning. This new environment
was foreign territory, and it felt weird.

There is a lot of weirdness when adjusting from full-time
employment to having more time than you know what to do with on your calendar. Whereas
work responsibilities have filled your schedule and mind for the past 30+
years, now you are in charge—it’s up to you to design your days. No one will do
it for you, and if they do beware, it's usually for their benefit.

I suggested to Steve that he have "fun with the weirdness." As
William Bridges refers to in his book, The
Way of Transitions, "Things aren't the old way, but aren't really a new way
yet either." Decide for yourself, through trial and error, how you want to
spend your time—your new way.

If you feel you don't belong at Starbucks at 10:00 on a Friday
morning, don't go. Perhaps spending this time at a food bank or botanical
garden fits your design. Or maybe you use this time to breathe life into a dream
that you've had for a long time, and maybe eventually you'll want to do this
with a cup of skinny mocha in your hand.

Accept that retirement is a time of transition. Have fun
with it. Try new hobbies, develop new skills, test your limits, and say yes to
more opportunities. Gradually you'll make sense of the weirdness and you'll
come up with your own design for retirement.